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Luis Castillo pitched six innings of two-run ball for a win Thursday against the Pirates.

Castillo pitched five scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer to David Freese in the sixth. It's the fifth straight start in which he's allowed one or two earned runs, and his ERA has dropped from 7.85 to 5.34 this month.

Amir Garrett couldn't finish off the Pirates on Thursday and was pulled after allowing two runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Garrett retired four straight after coming on with two outs in the seventh in a 5-2 game today, but the ninth started with an infield single, a strikeout and then a two-run homer, which lead to his removal. If Garrett had gotten Austin Meadows in the ninth, he most likely would have been left in to try for the 2 1/3-inning save. That it didn't materialize today doesn't mean he won't have more chances with Raisel Iglesias out.

Jared Hughes got a two-out save Thursday in a one-run game against the Pirates.

It looked like the Reds wanted Amir Garrett to finish out the game in Raisel Iglesias's absence, but he was pulled after a two-run homer in the ninth. Hughes, pitching for a third straight day, came into retire both batters he faced. He's a big part of the committee that will be filling in for Iglesias in the near future. However, because of his recent workload, it's doubtful that he'll be available on Friday.

Ivan Nova lost after allowing five runs -- four earned -- in 5 1/3 innings Thursday against the Reds.

Nova's own error led to the unearned run. He gave up two homers today, bringing his season total to 10 surrendered in 11 starts. He's allowed 25 runs -- 20 earned -- in 23 2/3 innings this month, taking his ERA from 3.32 to 4.96.

Jesse Winker finally hit his first homer and finished 2-for-4 against the Pirates on Thursday.

It was a solo shot off Ivan Nova in the fifth. Not much was expected from Winker in the power department when he came up last year, but he surprised with seven homers in 121 at-bats. This year, he had gone 140 at-bats without a homer to start the season. He still belongs in the lineup because of his on-base skills.

David Freese went 2-for-4 and hit his fourth homer of the year Thursday versus the Reds.

Freese's homer likely would have made a bigger difference in this one if not for his miscue earlier in the game, when he had a toss from Ivan Nova go off his glove at first base, loading the bases before Eugenio Suarez hit a grand slam. The error went to Nova on the play, but it was a catch that Freese should have made. Freese is hitting a solid .260/.326/.466 in his part-time role this year.

Benintendi gets a night off against Rays' southpaw Blake Snell. J.D. Martinez is starting in left, Hanley Ramirez will DH and Mitch Moreland is at first base. Benintendi has gotten off to a solid -- if not spectacular -- start to the 2018 season, hitting .277/.367/.463 with five homers and eight stolen bases in 46 games.

Austin Meadows went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer Thursday against the Reds.

Meadows seems to like the majors; he has three homers in six NL games after hitting one in 32 games in Triple-A this year and four in 72 games in Triple-A last year. Heh has the tools to continue hitting for power, though not quite at this rate. Still, as successful as he's been, it's hard to see how he's going to fit once Starling Marte returns from the disabled list.